by Kroze Kresky, Media Editor
Wow. That’s all I can say after seeing this work of pure GENIUS. The great minds behind Warner Premier who have brought us the entire line of DC Animated movies that have come out over the past 5 years have teamed up with Lego for possibly their greatest and newest direct to home video release: LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite. It is the funniest thing I have ever seen involving the massive cast of DC Comics characters done to date and because of which, it shines brightly by bringing all of these characters together into a storm of self aware humor that hasn’t been seen in a official production before.
The movie begins with cute chibi-fied Lego versions of Batman and Superman charging into LexCorp’s building, and being seemingly defeated outright by some unknown evil force and left for dead. The movie then brings us back to 2 days earlier where in Gotham they are holding an awards celebration for “The Most Popular Person of the Year” award, where both Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne are up for it. Right as they find out the winner (Spoiler: it wasn’t Lex), the ceremony is attacked by none other than the Joker along side the entire roster of Batman’s baddies including Two-Face, Poison Ivy, The Riddler, Catwoman, The Penguin and a Chicken (Yeah. You heard me right, a Chicken. Who ends up being the stand out character of this film). They proceed to steal everything and causes Bruce to do a quick change into Batman and spring into action to stop these dastardly villains and send them all back to Arkham. Meanwhile Lex, who’s ego still is bruised from his award loss, heads back to Metropolis to concoct a scheme to make up for his loss by becoming the President of the United States and make everyone love him that way. To do that Lex realizes he may have to team up with the maddest villain around: The Joker. Thus begins an epic journey that causes Batman to begrudgingly team up with the ultra boy scout, happy go lucky Superman in order to save the day.
The first thing you notice when watching the film that the Lego aesthetic just completely permeates every inch of this production and it just looks so good. Travellers Tales Animation who is no stranger to Lego animation, previously bringing us the entire set of Lego video games fully knows how to make us believe in this artificial despite all of the characters and the places they inhabit is made of Lego. The animations and movements feel and look natural and really pulls you in. It also helps that the Lego angle is constantly played up with a highly comedic angle, constantly poking fun at the logic behind Lego. One highly memorable scene that really makes use of this element comes towards the climax of the feature that will have anyone who’s ever had to “undress” and “redress” their Lego characters on the floor cracking up.
Also notable is the voice cast for Lego Batman. Unlike the other DC Animated features, instead of borrowing from well known celebrities and TV personalities, this cast mainly comes out of the video game and anime pool of talent. Troy Baker, who you cannot play a video game these days without bumping into his awesomeness plays Batman/Bruce Wayne here that stays true to the Dark Knight’s personality and is very much a mix of Kevin Conroy’s take and Christian Bale’s version of the iconic dark hero. While Batman is played more or less to how we are usually used to seeing him, Superman on the other hand is turned into a GIGANTIC and hilarious dick while keeping to his goodie two shoes ultimate boy scout roots. Travis Willingham’s take on the Man of Steel will have people laughing up tears. THIS is how many people have always wanted to see Supes be portrayed and it works almost perfectly thanks to the very lighthearted setting of the movie. Old time DC Animated alumni Clancy Brown returns to one of his greatest roles Lex Luthor and hearing his voice come out of the mouth of the Lego version of Lex will no doubt bring a smile to many long time fans faces when they watch. Christopher Cory Smith as The Joker picks up right where Mark Hamill and John DiMaggio left off continuing in the classic style that made the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series so compelling to watch. Long time animation voice over superstar Rob Paulsen (Pinky and the Brain) joins in the fun as well, lending his talent to the Riddler and getting quite a few priceless lines throughout the film. The entire cast is very well done and fits the feel to a tee. I personally wouldn’t mind seeing this group together again in another movie or even an ongoing series as they work so well together and fit the characters perfectly.
Overall:
LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite is so much fun to watch that I had a giant smile on my face the entire time viewing it. While the movie is funny and can be quite silly at times, it still plays everything straight and serious for the most part. It respects each of the characters it uses as well as the previously established world and yet manages to have fun with the setting still. While those of you who have played Lego Batman 2 the video game may notice that this movie does borrow its plot as well as several of its cut scenes as the basis for the movie but its all greatly expanded here. If you have played that version it is still worth watching this version if you enjoyed the style and humor in the original. When I first heard this was in production, I was told that this was one of the most hilarious projects the team at Warner Premiere has worked on so far. This movie lives up to that praise. If you have ever wanted to see what would happen if the DC heroes and villains ended up in a very tongue in cheek send up of normal superhero team up stories then LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite is the perfect thing to check out!
ComicsOnline gives LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite 5 out of 5 randomly appearing chickens.
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